Powell’s NXT Hit List: Jordynne Grace, Kelani Jordan, Zaria, Stephanie Vaquer, and Giulia vs. Roxanne Perez, Cora Jade, and Fatal Influence, Trick Williams and Bubba Ray Dudley vs. Ethan Page and Ridge Holland

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

NXT Hits

Jordynne Grace, Kelani Jordan, Zaria, Stephanie Vaquer, and Giulia vs. Roxanne Perez, Cora Jade, Fallon Henley, Jacy Jayne, and Jazmyn Nyx: It was a good call to put this match in the main event slot. The babyface team was loaded and they all received great reactions when this match was set up on the previous episode. It will be interesting to see if Zaria accidentally spearing Grace leads to a match or if it was meant to create friction between the two heading into the Iron Survivor Challenge match. Zaria and Vaquer both have recent pinfall victories over NXT Women’s Champion Perez. The NXT Deadline press release states that both Iron Survivor Challenge matches are for shots at the top men’s and women’s titles. If that sticks, then Perez won’t be defending her title in an Iron Survivor Challenge match. I wonder if they will go with a Triple Threat for the NXT Women’s Title on the Deadline show, as they have more than enough quality female contenders to fill out the Iron Survivor Challenge match.

Je’Von Evans vs. Wes Lee: This looked good on paper and the wrestlers delivered. Rob Van Dam’s involvement was limited in that he didn’t get physically involved, nor did he play a significant role in the finish. Evans paying homage to RVD with the long distance frog splash made for a nice finish. Here’s hoping that this is the start of a big run for Evans. He feels like the young phenom of the brand, the creative team has yet to strap the proverbial rocket on his back.

Ridge Holland and Ethan Page vs. Trick Williams and Bubba Ray Dudley: A crowd pleaser. The live crowd was hot for Bubba Ray and the surprise of D-Von Dudley bringing out a table. Everything worked for me aside from the way that Holland went over. The simple sidestep and rollup of Williams was flat. Holland can boast about the win and it’s logical because he’s expected to get an NXT Title shot, but a more decisive win would have been more beneficial. The post match with Williams and Bubba putting Page through a table and then celebrating with D-Von was fun.

Jaida Parker vs. Lola Vice in a hardcore match with Dawn Marie as special referee: A good show opening brawl. Vice was pushed aggressively when she debuted, but the creative forces have been pushing Parker more aggressively these days, so it was good to see her go over strong. My only criticism is that they could have trimmed a couple minutes from the match. It was great to see Dawn Marie (and later Francine) again after all these years. I like that they didn’t waste any time playing up the possibility that Dawn favored one wrestler over the other. She just called the match down the middle and that allowed the wrestlers to be the stars of the match.

Tony D’Angelo vs. Nunzio for the NXT North American Championship: A soft Hit for a quick and painless win for D’Angelo. It was a nice little surprise to bring back Tony Mamaluke to be in Nunzio’s corner.

NXT Misses

None: NXT promised and delivered ECW nostalgia for the 2300 Arena show. The venue looked good on television and the fans created a great atmosphere. Based on the looks of most of the fans, they were too young to have been around during the original ECW days. It left me wondering if they’ve gone back and watched ECW or if their sense of nostalgia was more about their memories of seeing former ECW wrestlers who went on to work for WWE. Either way, they were a lively group and they played a big part in the show coming off so well. I also enjoyed the way the crew took advantage of the show being in Philadelphia by filming the wrestlers at notable locations throughout the city. It would have been easy to simply do the show within 2300 Arena, but they put in extra work and it helped make the show feel special. I wish we would get more of that when the main roster shows visit certain cities.